Takayama, Japan

More Japan Photos

Buddhist shrine at Todai-ji, Nara

deer in Nara park

massive wooden Buddha at Todai-ji

Azaleas in Kyoto

playing dress up at the ryokan in
kyoto

train coductor Kyoto station,note clean white glove. Amtrak you can do better

mythical god to make wishes upon, Todai-ji, Nara

snow capped in Japanese Alps

Kanazawa Castle

guard statue Todai-ji,Nara

Huba, a local dish in Takayama

a very small beer! and yes I really do need a haircut

the river at Takayama

Sake brewery, Takayama

rainy streets, Takayam

magnificent gardens, Kenroku-en

cherry blossoms, Kenroku-en, Kanasawa

and before I forget, did I mention the amazing Japanese loos that clean and dry your bum for no extra charge!

Takayama, Japanese Alps, Japan

Tallest wooden structure in Nara, 100 metre pagoda

This the fifth day of our Japanese road trip and what a difference from Malaysia, both in climate and culture. In Malaysia, there was a huge amount of new construction but the problem there is that they don't maintain anything and after about five years, the buildings and infrastructure look like they are falling apart. In contrast, the Japanese seem to take pride in the appearance of 

everything. Orderly is the word that comes to mind. It's also great to be in cooler less humid 

weather. 

We spent our our first three days in Kyoto wandering around the old city looking around the

 temples and shrines and parks that this city is famous for. We thought we had missed the the

 cherry blossom time but we managed to catch the spectacular tail end of it. The weather was 

perfect for walking and we did plenty of that. We visited the sixteenth century Nijo Castle with its amazing nightingale floors that sing  like birds when you step on them to warn of intruders.We

 stayed at a ryokan which is a traditional Japanese hotel with pretty much everything on the floor on tatami mats. No chairs, only a table about a foot off the floor and futons instead of a bed. I'm not sure that it suits my creaky old bones but it was comfortable enough. Very plain and 

peaceful.

 We took a day trip to Nara which used to be the capital of Japan in the fifteenth century and     saw the huge wooden  Buddha in the shrine of  Todai-ji  and the famous deer in Nara park. 

We managed to negotiate the organized chaos of Kyoto station to buy tickets and find the 

correct train. Finding stuff is a little tricky here as almost everything is written in Japanese. 

Looking for restaurants can be a major undertaking as they are mostly very small and look 
like someone's house.

We took the train to Kanazawa and walked around the mostly restored Kanazawa Castle and

 the Kenrouko-en gardens, ranked as one of the top three gardens in Japan completed in the

 early nineteenth century.

Yesterday, we got on the highway bus to Takayama via Shirakawa-go through the mountains. 

Shirakawa-go is another restored ancient traditional village, beautifully preserved as a

 UNESCO world heritage site. Unfortunately, the weather turned rainy and cold so we didn't see the snow capped mountains to their best advantage.

Takayama is a small mountain town famous for its artisans and sake. We have been walking around the town mostly in the rain and we got educated on the culture of sake by two delightful Japanese ladies on a tour of a restored eighteenth century house.

It rained hard today so instead of going up to Kamikochi high up in the mountains for a walkabout and an onsen ( hot bath) experience we walked about the town and visited several museums.

Tomorrow, which is the admiral's birthday, we leave for Mount Fuji and look forward to the hotel with a promised view of the iconic mountain. Hopefully, the weather will clear as per the

 forecast.

vending machines are everywhere in Kyoto

traditionally dressed girls with electronic devices

cherry blossom, Kyoto

sitting room in the ryokan, Kyoto

bedroom futons 

red maple, Kyoto

imperial palace,Kyoto

gardens at Kenroku-en, Kanazawa

cherry blossom

entrance to Nijo Castle with the nightingale floors

lunch in the Nara Forest

the tea house at Kenruko-en gardens

restored thatched cottage at Shikara-go

Lunch in the Nara forest

junior Japanese tourist, Kyoto

Puteri Harbour Marina, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

We have been leisurely getting Callisto ready for her three month rest at Puteri. The weather remains hot and humid and we have had quite a bit of rain.Frank and Karen left for South Africa yesterday on more or less the same route that we will be taking so we will watch their progress carefully. We have been binge watching Big Bang Theory and are now up to Season 7 episode 20. We leave this evening for Kyoto, Japan and we will be doing a land cruise for ten days before returning to California on May 5th.
I've been working on the interactive Google map on the right side of the blog. It is difficult to do without good internet so I think I will complete it when I get back to California. Next post from Japan, perhaps we will get to meet up with Mr. Obama who is also going there.

Puteri Harbour, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Admiral's Review of 2014 sailing season

2014 was a very short season for me beginning In early January and ending this 
last week,April 14. 
We sailed back through the same waters as last year from Malaysia up to Thailand 
and then back ,returning to nearby Singapore.We had 60 glorious days of clear 
blue skies with and dry sunshine and not a drop of rain ,but these last 3-4 
weeks have been transitioning into the monsoon season,very hot and muggy with a 
daily dose of thunder showers and lightening storms,reminiscent of Costa Rica.
The waters around Thailand are much cleaner with far less floating garbage ( 
usually plastic water bottles and polystyrene food containers) and have a 
clarity that we couldn't find in Malaysia.
Other  than Penang ,we have not really taken to the cuisine in Malaysia the way 
we enjoyed the food in Thailand.
 Our most favorite Thai foods have been tom yam soup ,chaing beer and red curry 
with seafood ( Thai spicy, that means with 15 red hot chillis)for the captain , 
and green papaya salad or  som tam  and mango smoothies for me.We were lucky 
enough to find French bakers for baguettes and pain au chocolate in almost every 
anchorage this season,amazing how the French influence can be found in the most 
remote of places.Who knew.
I am already missing my regular  (9-12 $ per hour) Thai coconut oil massages 
that were on every beach and tiny town,they were so relaxing once they had 
finished the vigorous deep tissue pummeling ! I would have to say that Thailand 
has to be one of my most favorite countries where we have spent time ,the calm 
culture, friendly people and the delicious food .
Other highlight this year have to be our daughter Jenny's visit for 3.5 weeks  
and our land trip to Chaing Mai,with the up close and personal elephant 
experience and our silent 24 hour meditation retreat.
We are now working through routine maintenance filling the tanks with diesel , 
water, cooking gas,changing all engine fluids and filters.Taking the sails down 
,washing ,polishing and covering Callisto with her protective shroud.Cleaning 
the 2 outboard engines and dingy.Making inventory lists of all spare parts 
aboard and lists of what we need to purchase in the US to bring back.There is an 
unbelievable amount of  preparation  before leaving Callisto for 3 months in 
these hot,humid conditions,cleaning every surface inside and out in order to 
prevent any mold or mildew from growing.
 I am also trying to provision with all non- perishable foods and products for 
the long ocean going trip to South Africa later this summer,this should help 
Michael, as there will be  a lot on his to do list when he returns!
We leave here next week and we will be travelling via Japan for 10 days on our 
way back to San Diego.I hope to celebrate my 60 Th. Birthday in the shadow of 
Mount Fuji .

The gardens at Kota Iskander

Malaysian construction workers in the morning

the marina

A monitor lizard who lives in the marina. He's about 8 feet long!

Kota Iskandar

Puteri Harbour Marina, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

View Langkawi to Puteri in a larger map This interactive google map shows our track over the past 2 weeks on the trip down from Langkawi to Puteri.  The blue marks are anchorages or marinas where we stopped. The detail is amazing.
I'll do the whole season including Thailand over the next week. It's quite labour intensive.



 We arrived at Puteri Harbor Marina last Monday after a long days motoring from Pulau Pisang up the Johor Straits. We had a thunder storm that night which was exciting but fortunately lasted only for about an hour. The weather continues to be very hot and humid and it is difficult to get any work done outside. We are busy making Callisto ready for an inactive 3 months while we go back to California on Thursday. The boat is washed and the stainless steel polished and the sunbrella canopy is now in place. Putting it up is a major chore but worth it as it keeps the sun and rain off the boat. We went shopping to the local mall yesterday and we now have all the dry goods for the cruise to South Africa on board. We continue cleaning both inside and out. The Kilkea's leave tomorrow for Canada and the Tahina's are off to South Africa on Thursday.

Approaching the bridge over the Johor Straits. Even though it's height is 25 metres and our mast is 22 metres with 1 metre antennas on top it always looks like we will hit the bridge.

The busy port of Singapore. Ships everywhere.

The last sunrise of the season at Pulau Pisang

The Singapore government takes a dim view of illegal immigrants

The Admiral doing a jungle trek at Fraser's Hill

Puteri Harbour Marina. Johor Bahru, Malaysia

View port dickson to puteri in a larger map My friend Frank from Tahina showed me how to upload interactive maps using the magic of Google. This my first attempt at playing with with Google maps engines and shows the last leg of our run from Port Dickson to Puteri, where we are now located. Full post to follow with photos. We are busy putting Callisto to bed.

Admiral Marina, Port Dickson, Malaysia

The "French Village" very silly

We are back at Port Dickson after a three day walkabout in the highlands to the north east of  Kuala Lumpur.The day started with an altercation with the rental car dude when it was suggested that he was overcharging us. He went a little berserk and wanted to refuse to rent us the car. Fortunately, reason prevailed and off we went after losing about an hour trying to calm him down. We drove for about three hours on the east of KL and up into the highlands. We stopped at a place that was billed as a French village but it turned out to be a very kitschy tourist trap with many ubiquitous Chinese persons. A few photos and a quick look and off we went to our destination of Fraser's  Hill. Very winding roads up to an elevation of 5000 feet but the journey was worth it for the cool weather and the spectacular rainforest views.
The area was founded by a Scottish miner who came there from Australia to mine tin and he stayed. He allegedly built a house there in the 1930's and this became the Olde Smokehouse Inn where we spend two nights. We found the place easily enough with the aid of Google and iPads. The place was a bit dilapidated and despite its excellent location was not really up to scratch. The Lakehouse at the Cameron Highlands was far better in terms of service and accommodation.

wild orchids

Fraser's Hill rainforest

Fraser's Hill flora and fauna

evening drinks at Ye Olde Smokehouse

The veranda at Ye Olde Smokehouse, a delightful spot but not such good service

 

 

This place was also done in mock Tudor style but had not been looked after at 
all. The hotel restaurant was recommended in the tourist guides and we thought 
we would give them a try. This turned out to be an error as the evening began to 
look like a Fawlty Towers experience. To say they didn't have a clue was a major 
understatement. A combination of terrible food and even worse service made for a 
difficult evening, especially when compared to the hotel in the Cameron 
Highlands. We would have left the following morning but we had paid in advance 
and they weren't giving any money back. 
On the following day after an indifferent breakfast, we went off to explore the 
village at Fraser's Hill. This area is famous for both local and migratory birds 
and they had an interpretative center that was really excellent. 
We avoided the hotel that evening and had a reasonable dinner at Scott's pub 
washed down with a few beers.
Next day, we left the highlands and went to look at the historic city of  
Melacca. After about three and a half hours and a few heavy rain showers later 
we drove into the city and wandered around the old town. It is an interesting 
place with a history dating back to the 14 Th. century. The Chinese, Dutch and the 
British were there and they all left their mark. We visited the extraordinary 
Cheng Ho museum which was amazing. Cheng was a 14 Th. century Chinese who built 
a massive fleet of 208 ships for the Ming emperor and made a series of voyages 
as far as Somalia in the west and New Zealand in the east. Some of the ships 
were huge by the days standards. At least 5 times bigger than those of Columbus. 
Some say Cheng went as far as the Americas but there is no definite evidence for 
this.
We got back to Port Dickson last night and have had a lazy day today. Tomorrow, 
it's off on our final leg of this cruise. 130 miles to Puteri Harbour, we should 
be there on Monday and will start to put Callisto to bed for the next three months.

 

rainforest on the way to Melacca

Old town, Melacca

outside the Cheng Ho Museum. fascinating place

remains of 16 Th. century Dutch fort and Chinese tourists

Replica of Portuguese ship

unusual architecture, Melacca

sitting in front of a reconstruction of Cheng Ho's fleet

Rickshaws, Melacca

 

The riverfront, Melacca